Saturday, January 22, 2011

Progression

It wasn’t easy for me to grow into a teenager. I think it took a few years of struggle. But I’m sure I came into my own when I was 15. That was a great year. That year:

- I discovered a lot of great rock music- I found my talents in writing and music- I made a few very good friends- I started being a proper philosopher. I think that the potential for deep thinking had always existed. I always knew the principle that behind an idea lay another deeper and greater idea, and you had to follow the trail and find them one by one.

I think the next great transition in my life was when I was 22. I became a kidult. That year:

- I developed a faculty in language that helped me become more articulate- I had a great cyber-relationship. At least it was great while it lasted, because after that it was not great.- I learnt to make peace with myself. At least for a while, up till then. - I got interested in a lot of academic learning, especially the humanities. Economics, political science, sexual politics, complexity theory,

And regrettably, I don’t think I’ve moved on from there in a big way. For me to fully become an adult (and there’s not much time left)

- I have to learn how to manage my life (at least much better than I’m doing now)- I have to learn how to manage my wealth (or at least whatever that word means in my context)- I have to mingle among adults and do stuff that adults think is cool.- I have to enjoy at least one expensive hobby. Otherwise running around like a headless chicken trying to grab every dollar you can find will be exposed as a great sham.

Problem is, a lot of those adult things don’t make sense. Enjoying an expensive bag, enjoying expensive clothes – I don’t mind dressing up elegantly but that’s a matter of artistic taste. Buying something expensive – that’s the kind of insanity that Thorsten Veblen had so much contempt for when he wrote his “Theory of the Leisure Class”.

A lot of teenage life made a lot more sense. I enjoy rock music, I enjoy philosophising. I enjoy learning new things. But you could come to

Then again a lot of adulthood makes sense. How to progress from being a keen observer of life to an active participant in it. How to play a game and win. How to raise kids. How to keep on going even when you’re tired.

Who I am today is still the legacy of my college years. The things I learnt or picked up during those years. To be sure, they were turbulent, problematic times. But they were also some of the best years of my life.

Think I better explain # 8. I decided that it was best to live life at a more leisurely pace, but to adopt a slow and steady. I decided not to give myself too much pressure to do things, but to keep on pushing steadily and not to worry as long as things moved forward always.